CASE STUDY

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Supporting student engagement and effective

classroom practices in primary school:
Liverpool West Public School
 CESE would like to thank the staff, students and parents of Liverpool West Public School for their
participation in this case study. Particular thanks to Principal, Patricia Bull.
Expectations for success is a measure of classroom context and
represents the extent to which school staff value academic
achievement and hold high expectations for all students.
Students who receive high expectations in primary school can
be over 6 months ahead in their learning by Year 7. This case
study describes how Liverpool West Public School maintains
high expectations of its students. It looks at how structures
within the school support a culture where both staff and
students are continuously challenged to grow and succeed.
Introduction
Liverpool West Public School (PS) is located in south western
Sydney. In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 727 students
across K-6, 88% of whom were from a language background
other than English (LBOTE). The school has an Index of
Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA) value of 906,
which is lower than the Australian average, with the majority
(65%) of their student cohort from disadvantaged families in the
bottom quarter of socio-economic status. The school has high
levels of socio-emotional engagement and consistently scores
above expected levels for the proportion of students reporting
that they experience high expectations from their teachers, as
reported in Tell Them From Me student survey results.
The principal of Liverpool West PS identifies the commitment
from the school staff as one of the driving forces behind the
school’s success in engaging students and supporting their
growth and success. The school has benefited from a well-
established leadership team, which has facilitated a sense of
stability and consistency in the direction of the school and the
expectations of staff and students. The school encourages
both permanent and temporary staff to step up into relieving
leadership positions across the school. This helps retain key
staff while also communicating the school’s high expectations
of their younger and/or temporary staff and providing
opportunities for career development.
The school has a strong focus on developing their students,
offering a range of leadership, peer support, and teaching
and learning programs and initiatives. These aim to build
students’ confidence and help them to engage fully in school
life. ‘Buddying’ programs form a key component of the school’s
efforts to engage their students, providing all students across
the school with opportunities to support one another and
create positive peer relationships. Teachers work to ensure that
their students are able to engage with, and succeed in, their
learning by adapting their teaching to meet the needs of the
school’s diverse student population.
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Knowing and supporting vulnerable Liverpool West PS also has a strong partnership with Western
Sydney University (WSU). Through the Classroom Without
students with school structures and Borders program, the school receives around 16 pre-service
interventions teachers currently studying at WSU to work with their refugee
The school works hard to ensure that their students are students. The school coordinates these one-on-one learning
supported and engaged in their learning from their very first opportunities four days a week in order to provide an almost
day of enrolment, establishing high expectations for students daily routine of short lessons on building vocabulary or
from their first day at school. For their vulnerable students, improving comprehension. The result is that students feel valued
many of whom have come from refugee backgrounds, the and have their learning needs met, while also helping to build
school provides opportunities for siblings to enter class their confidence in learning. While the school is well resourced
together in order to maintain familial support structures as through RAM funding, links with external organisations, such as
they commence school. These special transition classes help WSU, also help to bring additional support staff into the school.
these children to integrate into school life, allowing them to To foster a climate of high expectations, the school’s First Foot
build relationships with their peers and teachers and become Forward program, also in partnership with WSU, allows Year
accustomed to school routines before they enter their more 6 students to visit the university twice during the year, and
typical, age-based classes. provides an orientation and information evening for parents.
Other programs across the school help to support those students This program encourages students to think about tertiary
most at risk of disengagement and ensure that all students can education very early in their schooling and helps to engage
access the same learning opportunities. Bilingual community them through Year 6 and across the transition to secondary
liaison officers support students from language backgrounds school. Seeing, experiencing and learning about higher
other than English and Aboriginal families. The school also education helps instil high aspirations early.
uses their RAM (Resource Allocation Model) funding to employ
speech pathologists who undertake an initial assessment of every
kindergarten or newly enrolled student. This allows the school
to develop a learning program and provide support for students
with specific learning needs, particularly those who require
support to develop English language and literacy skills. These
initiatives help to ensure that students engage in their classroom
learning from the very beginning of their time at school. Other
external programs include SPARK, STARTTS and yoga programs.
The Drum Beat program is in place to help stage 3 students
understand and regulate emotional and behavioural issues.
School leaders expect their students to develop skills that they
will be able to take into high school in order to regulate their
own school behaviours.
Dedicated transition time at the end of each year allows teachers
to transfer and share knowledge about their students with
new members of staff or new classroom teachers. The school
prides itself on knowing not only where their students are
academically, but also something personal to each individual.
This information is used to inform the creation of new classes
each year. Teaching staff come together at the end of the year
to plan a strategic placement of their students into new classes
based on their knowledge of students’ individual learning needs,
as well as their knowledge of which students are friends and
which students might be better split up. At the start of the
new school year, each class has a two-week period focused on
explicitly establishing expectations and routines and building
foundational relationships between students and teachers.
Teachers also use this time to assess classroom dynamics and
determine if further changes to classes are required.

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Using data and research to drive effective
classroom practices
The school’s principal is committed to ensuring that practices
and programs across the school are continually refined and
improved. To support this, the school’s leadership team meets
regularly to unpack new research and review how it may help
to improve student outcomes and be relevant to the school’s
priorities. The school utilises the logic model framework to
guide school improvements. The framework helps the school to
evaluate the impact and cost effectiveness of interventions and
programs, strengthening the link between teaching practices
and student outcomes. An evaluative mindset has helped the
school’s leaders to effectively manage available RAM funding so
as to maximise the benefits for their students.
Evaluation using data and feedback from students, parents
and teachers has also helped to refine and adjust initiatives
that have been implemented across the school. For example,
the school explores their Sentral data to evaluate whether their
Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) lessons have made an
impact and whether certain behavioural lessons require further
teaching. Having this explicit evaluation and reflective stage
helps the school to adjust and improve year on year. The school
recognises that asking ‘did it meet the goal?’ and ‘was it the
best or most efficient method for the outcome?’ are crucial
questions for ensuring ongoing school improvement.
The school reiterates the philosophy of growth for every
student, regardless of their language background or starting
point. One-to-one data-driven meetings with instructional
leaders help teachers to identify the needs of their specific
classrooms. Remedial interventions can then be put in place to
support those students with specific learning needs to ensure
that every student is able to make learning progress. This
systematic collaboration amongst staff also helps school leaders
see when similar issues are being encountered across the school
and develop strategies to address them.

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Prioritising professional learning to meet All teaching staff at Liverpool West PS are paired with
experienced instructional leaders and participate in reciprocal
staff and student needs classroom visits and peer observations. Feedback opportunities
Upskilling teachers is a key part of the school’s improvement and reflective discussions have been some of the most
journey. Alongside a diverse student cohort, Liverpool West effective ways for the school to provide the differentiated
PS also has diversity in their staffing. To ensure that teaching support required to develop effective classroom practice.
staff are able to address the learning needs of their students, a Demonstrations of good practice are the most important
formal professional learning model has been developed where learning tool for their teachers, according to the school’s
every teacher across the school is challenged and encouraged leaders. ‘Show, don’t tell’ underpins this aspect of teacher
to grow and improve in their teaching practice. The school’s development, and the modelling undertaken by instructional
leaders understand that teaching experience differs among their leaders in the classroom is pivotal in understanding good
staff, which means that their teachers should also experience practice and what it looks like for teachers who require more
differentiated professional development. Assistant principals help, while at the same time confirming that what they are
work with both new and established classroom teachers on a doing is correct for those more experienced teachers. According
weekly basis to ensure that there is always the opportunity for to the principal, this is critical in establishing high expectations
peer feedback and learning. In-class demonstrations and team of teaching staff while also ensuring that they feel valued
teaching help to model effective classroom practices. Explicit and supported in the school. This, in turn, improves teachers’
teaching is at the core of classroom practice across the school confidence levels, which is reflected in improved classroom
and the school uses classroom observation, demonstration and practice.
peer feedback to ensure all teachers are able to confidently
deliver explicit teaching strategies.
The school welcomes a large number of temporary teachers,
some within their first few years of qualification; however,
they make a point to upskill their less experienced teachers
quickly. The school uses their funding resources to ‘buy’
incoming teachers one week of classroom time before they
start their teaching role so that they can familiarise them with
the classrooms and their students. The school recognises that
teacher-student relationships are important to all students, but
especially for their vulnerable students. This initial classroom
time is important both to help transition new staff into the
school and to connect the students to their new teachers.

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Authors: Samuel Cox and Jin Zhou
Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation
GPO Box 33, Sydney NSW 2001, Australia
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Please cite this publication as:

Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation (2019), Supporting student engagement and effective classroom practices in
primary school -Liverpool West Public School, NSW Department of Education, cese.nsw.gov.au